Begun the Rogue One Buzz Has

Star Wars: Rogue One has been on many countdown lists ever since the last Star Wars episode opened. Today we have received additional news about the plot, the actors, and more — as well as an awesome trailer / teaser. So let’s begin the sharing…

Latest official Title for Rogue One

The Basics of Rogue One:

Star Wars: Rogue One is set to open December 16, 2016. The story is billed as an anthology. The plot revolves around plans to steal the plans for the original Death Star by a squad of rebel fighters affectionately known as…drum roll… Rogue One. The goal is to steal the plans so they can destroy it before the Emperor starts blowing things up (think of Admiral Ackbar showing Luke plans of the Death Star which were gained at a high price). If you pay a bit of attention to some of the various movies, new and old, you will notice this emblem:

Rogue One Emblem

The timeline for the movie is set between Episodes III and IV. This will be the first movie (of several) that will explore characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga. Book fans have always wanted more character development, so now they are making a series of movies just for it.

However, in no way does it mean these stories will follow the books, graphic novels, or video game stories – aka the “expanded universe” – in any way. Lucas Films has said that the expanded universe represents “otherworld” stories that “could have been” – but not what “actually happened” outside the “official” film series. So if you wanted more film minutes for your favorite Qui-Gon Jinn or Mon Mothma – too bad.

But stay tuned, there will be additional Rogue One films as well as other solo prequel films. For instance, in 2018 there will be a Han Solo spin-off. I guess an artist is always more interesting after death.

Please note, this movie will be darker and grittier than any other Star Wars film to date. The intentions of this motley crew may not always be noble either.

John Knoll of Industrial Light and Magic came up with the story idea. The script is by Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz. The film is directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, latest Godzilla).

Felicity Jones is set to play the main female lead as a rebel.

Our new heroine

Our new heroine

From some of her past roles, Felicity should easily charm the nerd audience. The question is – who will she be playing? There has been all kinds of rumors and talk – but the leading theory is that Jones will be playing Lyra Erso. Does that name sound familiar? If it rings a bell, let’s just say it is the daughter of one of the most celebrated villains in the franchise – Boba Fett!!! This could get interesting.

Ahmed and Luna appear to also be playing Alliance fighters in Rogue One squadron. Wen and Yen appear in the teaser doing some martial arts type moves. This is cool because the idea of Jedi training is that it is a martial art of sorts.

Forest Whitaker voices most of the teaser and appears to be something like a Yoda for the group. “What will you become???”.

Enough said, let’s let the trailer speak for itself. Enjoy!

From left to right you may recognize Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen.